Reviews: Psycho (1960) Movie Review
Subgenres: Psychological, Thriller, Cult Classic, Drama, Motel, Split Personality
Exploring Psycho (1960) through our review, we cover its story, scares, and how it fits into the broader horror genre landscape.
Psycho (1960) is an American mystery thriller horror movie from the 1960s that made it into the National Film Registry for preservation. It is loosely based on Wisconsin serial killer and grave robber Ed Gein. Director Alfred Hitchcock (Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959)) received a nomination for best director for the Academy Awards. Psycho is Alfred Hitchcock’s best movie ever made and is high up in the charts as one of the greatest movies of all time (best horror movies of all time). Universal Studios began producing a TV series, three sequels, and a remake of Psycho after the director died in 1980. The US Library of Congress chose Psycho in 1992 to be preserved in the National Film Registry.
Marion Crane (Janet Leigh - Touch of Evil (1958), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Fog (1980)) meets her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin - Spartacus (1960), Imitation of Life (1959), A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958)) at a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona. During her lunch break, they met each other for some intimate time and discuss how they cannot afford a wedding. A client trusted Marion with $40,000 cash to buy a house for his daughter because Marion is a secretary at a real estate office. Marion stole the $40,000 from her employer and ran off to a secluded motel in another town, hoping that she would not be found. She did not tell her boyfriend that she was fleeing the town and stole the enormous amount of money. She stayed at the Bates Motel that is owned by young Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins - The Trial (1962), Psycho II (1983), The Black Hole (1979)), who is creepy and very disturbed. Norman became angry when Marion told him that he should put his mentally ill mother in an institution while having dinner. Later that night, Marion decides to return the money to her office in Phoenix and face the consequences of her action. Marion did not make it to the office as she was stabbed with a butcher knife and killed while taking a shower in her motel room that rainy night. Norman cleans the room as clean as possible after discovering her body and wrapping it up with the shower curtain. Who killed her in that secluded motel?
Marion’s sister Lila (Vera Miles - The Searchers (1956), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), The Wrong Man (1956)), and her Sam Loomis are terribly worried over her disappearance and fear the worst. Detective Milton Arbogast (Martin Balsam - 12 Angry Men (1957), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)) is investigating the case of Marion and the stolen money and soon visits the Bates Motel. Watch the movie to see who the killer is and what happens to the rest of the cast. Who will survive, and who will die? It is an excellent movie for all horror fans who love an original jump scare. Psycho contains excellent cinematography, a great soundtrack, climactic twist, and dark humor. The cast was good but not excellent, well, except for Anthony Perkins. Please pay attention to the last few scenes, as they will leave you with images and chills for a while.
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Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Psycho Rating Scores
- Our Score: 9/10
- Overall Score: 9.20/10
- IMDB: 8.5/10
- MetaCritic: 9.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 9.7/10
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